


A Dad Moment

by KatieComma



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Christmas, Family Feels, Fluff, It goes pretty well, M/M, Steve has a dad moment, Teases smut, but no actual smut, christmas tradition
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:26:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21942859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatieComma/pseuds/KatieComma
Summary: It's Christmas Eve and Charlie's supposed to be in bed. Instead Steve finds him in front of the tree having a bit of a Santa-crisis.
Relationships: Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Comments: 44
Kudos: 320





	A Dad Moment

**Author's Note:**

> This is dedicated to the McDanno fandom: all the readers, all the writers, all the quiet ones in the back who don't say much, but reblog awesome things on Tumblr.
> 
> You guys are ALL awesome, and this fandom has definitely been a go-to for me in some of my not greatest times. So have some fluff as a token of my love and appreciation!
> 
> Shout out to lavendersblues for doing a quick read-through and convincing me to share this with the world!

Steve munched another cookie.

“Would you stop with the cookies already?” Danny asked quietly, so he wouldn’t wake the kids, throwing his arms around the way he did when he had to be quiet but really didn’t want to be; being loud with his body instead of his voice.

“What?” Steve said through another bite. “They’re really good.”

“I know they’re good,” Danny said as he stuffed a few things into Charlie’s stocking. “I know they’re good Steven, because I made them.”

“Well, it’ll be a fun surprise,” Steve reasoned, “Santa really was here. He ate _all_ the cookies.”

Danny rolled his eyes and shook his head.

Steve grinned and took a bite of another cookie, making sure to leave this one half eaten before putting it back on the “Santa cookie plate.” He got up from the couch and watched Danny fill Grace’s stocking. Their work was now done. Santa had made a fairly extravagant appearance. It would be a great year in the Williams-McGarrett household. Not only were the kids getting spoiled, but it was Steve’s first Christmas with Danny. Officially together.

Danny stepped back to look over the living room: stockings hung on the mantel, stuffed to bursting, the tree overflowing with gifts. He nodded.

Steve stepped up behind him and wrapped his arms around Danny’s middle from behind, resting his chin on a firm shoulder. “It looks awesome Danno,” he said, “perfect Christmas.”

“Perfect?” Danny hummed and hawed. “I don’t know about perfect.”

“Oh, really? What’s missing?”

Danny turned quickly in Steve’s arms and kissed him hard. 0 to 120 in .2 seconds, which was usually Steve’s MO. Steve wasn’t complaining, and pulled Danny tight against him, opening his mouth to the kiss.

Danny broke off and nuzzled at Steve’s cheek. “Mmmm babe you taste so good,” he hummed against Steve’s skin. “Maybe it should be tradition for you to eat an entire batch of cookies if you’re gonna taste like that.”

Steve sucked Danny’s earlobe into his mouth and then kissed down his neck. Danny muffled his groans into Steve’s shoulder.

“Steve?” Danny’s voice trailed off into a soft moan at the end.

“Mmmhmm?” Steve answered, his mouth occupied with tasting around the collar of Danny’s shirt.

“Let’s go to bed babe,” Danny said, his voice all warmth and lust.

Steve wanted to pick Danny up and carry him there. But past experience taught him that wasn’t really something Danny enjoyed. Things that made Danny feel emasculated, even though he knew Steve wouldn’t judge him, were not things that Danny liked. It was just part of who he was, deep down, at the core. Steve was just glad it didn’t extend fully into their sex life. Many men who grew up the way Danny did would have felt less like a man switch hitting in the bedroom with their husband. Thankfully not Danny.

So instead of carrying Danny, he pushed him toward the hallway. “I’ll just grab the lights in the kitchen, I’ll be right there.”

“Leave the tree on you animal,” Danny hissed, waving at the brightly lit Christmas tree.

Steve frowned. “Of course, what do you take me for?” He shook his head and went to the kitchen, grabbing another cookie from the jar before shutting the lights off.

When he went back into the living room he took one last look to make sure everything was in place, and saw Charlie sitting on the couch.

“Charlie?” Steve said, crouching next to the couch and jiggling Charlie’s knee. “What’re you doing up?”

“All the Santa presents are already here,” Charlie said, his voice shaking, but not with excitement.

Steve panicked, his heart catapulting up his throat. His mouth felt tacky with sludgy bits of cookie.

Then Charlie looked at Steve full-on, big wide eyes brimming with tears. And something in Steve kicked into overdrive. It wasn’t his SEAL training, or even adrenaline, it was something beyond that.

“Well of course they’re all here,” Steve said as heaved himself up to sit next to Charlie on the couch. He put an arm around his stepson - his son - before he continued in the most excited voice he could muster. “Santa was already here buddy. You just missed him.”

“What?” Charlie’s eyes got bigger, but the tears seemed to be receding. “Really?”

“Yuppers,” Steve smiled. “Talked to him myself. I can’t believe you tried to sneak out to see him. That must be why he left so quick. He’s got a really good sense for that kind of thing you know.”

“Like Spiderman?” 

“Exactly like Spiderman,” Steve replied. “But now, it’s time to get you back to bed.”

“Uncle Steve,” Charlie sounded unsure. “Are you sure… the presents weren’t from… Tua at school said-“

“Nevermind Tua,” Steve cut Charlie’s awful chain of broken sentences short. “Who are you gonna trust, huh? This Tua kid? Or your Uncle Steve?” They hadn’t quite got around to Steve being “dad” yet, and he didn’t mind. He liked being Uncle Steve. It was an old tradition and he didn’t mind sticking with it.

“You’re right,” Charlie said, his face finally turning into a grin. “Course I trust you Uncle Steve.”

“Alright, then let’s get to bed,” Steve said, but before he could stand up, Charlie grabbed his hand.

“Uncle Steve?” His eyes were worried again. Just when Steve thought he’d gotten away easy.

“Yeah, Charlie?”

“Do you love Danno?”

“Of Course I do,” Steve said with every ounce of conviction in his body. “What makes you ask something like that? Of course I love Danno.”

“Grace was talking about…” Charlie looked at the tree, his eyes distant. And when had he started looking so grown up? “About when Danno and mom… stopped being together. They loved each other too, right?”

Steve gritted his teeth for a second. Grace was definitely becoming a petulant teenager. He loved her to the ends of the earth, but the last thing any of them needed was her filling Charlie’s head full of doubts and divorce talk.

“Of course they did,” Steve answered, “they still do.”

“I don’t ever want you to move out,” Charlie said softly. “I don’t want three Christmases.”

Steve put his arm around Charlie, marvelling at how fragile his son felt wrapped up in his arms. “Nonsense,” Steve said, “you think Danno will ever be able to get rid of me? After all these years? I don’t think so.” Steve looked down at his left hand, the wedding band gleaming blue, red, yellow, and green from the tree lights.

Charlie looked like he had more outlandish reasoning ready for why Steve might leave, so Steve took the opportunity to jump in instead.

“You know Charlie, the world is a big place, and there are lots of people in it,” he said. It was definitely a talk that Danny should have with Charlie, but Steve barrelled on ahead anyway the way he always did; maybe he was overstepping, but he couldn’t see Charlie bothered this way, and he wasn’t going to say anything that wasn’t true. “And in the world, in all those people all across the world, there’s somebody for everybody. But sometimes it’s really hard to find that person. And it can take years and years and years.”

“Danno is your person?” Charlie asked, looking up at Steve.

“Danno is my person,” Steve confirmed. “Sometimes bad things happen to bring people together. And it sucks, but it happens for a reason. So now I’ve got Danno, and you and Gracie, and life is perfect even if the getting here wasn’t. Does that make sense?”

“Danno is your person so you’re staying forever,” Charlie said as though memorizing for a test.

Steve nodded and felt his own eyes getting a little teary, but Charlie looked happy for the moment, a big grin crossing his face.

“Time for bed, kiddo?” Steve asked.

Charlie looked longingly at the tree before he reluctantly stood up. “Ok,” he said glumly.

“Tell you what,” Steve said, sneaking over to the tree and looking around to make sure no one else was awake. “I’ll let you open one little one. Just you and me, ok?”

Charlie grinned and nodded enthusiastically.

Steve dug out one of the ones he’d bought. Charlie had asked for Pokemon cards and Steve had picked him up several packs and individually wrapped them all to help keep him occupied in the morning. He slipped one of the wrapped packs out of the pile and sat crosslegged on the floor with Charlie.

Charlie was quiet as he tore through the paper, but Steve had to put a hand over his mouth to keep him from screeching in excitement and waking up the household. He helped Charlie open the pack so he could look through the cards inside, enthusiastically showing Steve the ones he was excited about while they hunched together over the cards, lit only by the Christmas tree. 

It was a perfect moment. Steve rarely shared moments like that with Charlie. He was so quiet and withdrawn most of the time, allowing his sister to take the spotlight and the attention. Steve related to that.

Charlie was flipping through the cards for a fourth time when he started to tip forward, sleep trying to overtake him.

Steve slipped the cards from his fingers, stashed the evidence of their early present opening, and carried Charlie to bed. Tucked under the covers, Charlie reached out and Steve hugged him tight.

“Sleep tight Charlie,” he said before he left the little pile of cards on Charlie’s nightstand.

Steve tiptoed down the hall to the master bedroom, where Danny was laying under the covers, his eyes closed.

In the ensuite, Steve brushed the delicious taste of Christmas cookie out of his mouth, and then returned to bed as quietly as he could. Just before he could pull back the covers on his side, Danny spoke up, startling him.

“You know, generally, Christmas presents are a Christmas morning tradition in this household,” Danny said. “Not Christmas Eve, or Christmas midnight, or whatever the hell time it is. Christmas morning, Steven.”

Steve climbed under the blankets and was about to defend himself when Danny continued.

“I will, however, make an exception this one and only year Mr Williams-McGarrett,” Danny plowed ahead, “this one and only year will I make this exception because it was the perfect thing to do. Charlie needed it.”

“I had a dad moment, didn’t I?” Steve asked, trying not to grin too wide.

Danny rolled toward him and wrapped an arm around Steve, pulling him close. “You did. And it was a marvellous success,” Danny said as he planted a soft kiss on Steve’s lips.

They kissed a little more, but nothing so lusty as earlier. It was late now, and Steve wasn’t in that headspace anymore. Neither was Danny, and they just traded lazy, soft kisses back and forth, until Danny pulled back.

“So, I’m your person, huh?” Danny asked.

“So, you just heard the whole conversation and were going to leave me hanging out there to dry?” Steve asked, still smiling, kissing the tip of Danny’s nose in that cute way that he said he hated, but Steve was sure he secretly loved.

“You know it,” Danny said. “It was a good test. I would have stepped in if you’d said something really stupid like that Tua kid was right and there’s no Santa. But you, my friend, are skirting the question.”

“I’m sorry,” Steve said, “you’ll have to refresh my memory.”

Danny grinned that stupid grin that came when he’d had too much to drink, or was in love with Steve. “So, I’m your person, huh?”

“Yes,” Steve groaned grudgingly. “You’re my person, ok?”

“Merry Christmas Steve,” Danny said softly.

“Merry Christmas Danno,” Steve replied, kissing him softly one more time. It reminded him of their wedding kiss; soft and perfect and never long enough but still seemingly endless. Danny’s hands clutched him tightly, and Steve wanted to live in that kiss.

“How’s about we get some sleep,” Danny suggested, “tomorrow morning is going to be crazy.”

“Yes dear,” Steve said. “Big spoon or little spoon tonight?”

Danny flipped around and settled his back against Steve’s chest.

“I love you Danno.”

“I love you too, you big schmuck. Cause you’re my person too.”


End file.
